


fight through this battle (and win)

by thedarknesswithin (babylxxrry)



Series: all that glitters is not gold [8]
Category: Pentatonix, Superfruit
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, IT'S ABOUT FUCKING TIME, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-05
Updated: 2017-04-05
Packaged: 2018-10-14 17:44:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10541403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/babylxxrry/pseuds/thedarknesswithin
Summary: mitch hopes it'll stay okay.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [xxCat1989xx](https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxCat1989xx/gifts).



> LOL TWO DAYS LATER HERES i8 I COULDNT RESIST BYE
> 
>  
> 
> i love u so much cat

Mitch doesn’t sleep. He can’t, not now. He sits still, blanket wrapped around him, dry-eyed. He’s not shaking or crying or anything. He’s just. Tired.  Not sleepy. Tired. He’s tired, and he doesn’t know what to do.

Me, 10:28am: _scott?_

Me, 10:34am: _scotty please come home_

That was fifteen minutes ago. Scott hasn’t replied, not that Mitch was expecting him to, but it still stings. He’s tempted to start texting Kirstie and Avi and Kevin and Nicole and Candice and everyone else he knows to see where Scott’s run to, but he doesn’t. He’ll be back. He doesn’t leave any of these disputes unsettled, at least not the few Mitch remembers. Thing is, everything about this entire situation has been so, so out of ordinary that Mitch doesn’t know what to expect. He doesn’t know if Scott will come back ready to talk or if he’s going to pretend none of it ever happened.

The house is quiet, and Mitch starts picking up the low hum of their refrigerator and their heating system kicking in and out, and he thinks.

He tries to figure out Scott. He tries to list all of the reasons Scott would have to lie, and he can only think of one.

To protect Mitch. The only reason Scott would lie about dating Shawn is to protect Mitch. It’s still a stretch, though, Mitch knows. Scott’s not a dick like that. He’s straightforward, wears his heart on his sleeve, doesn’t _lie_ about relationships, especially not to Mitch. Fuck’s sake, they’ve been each other’s first confidants since they were ten and Mitch spilled juice on his bedroom carpet and he told Scott, who’d pinky-promised not to tell, ever. Mitch’s parents still don’t know.

Point is, Scott doesn’t lie, never has.

There’s a first time for everything, right? And why not this time? This is possibly the single most non-regular situation they’ve ever been in, so who’s to say Scott’s going to behave the way he always has?

The next time Mitch glances at his phone, it’s 11:10, and he stares blankly at the screen as it ticks over to 11:11. He doesn’t believe in 11:11 wishes, not really, even though he’s granted several in his time.

_11:11. Please let Scott and I figure out what the fuck is happening and how we can resolve it._

He closes the notes app, shuts off his phone, burying his face in his hands, counts to sixty.

At exactly 11:14, Mitch hears the faint rumble of their garage door opening.

One count to sixty later, it’s 11:15 and there’s a soft knock on his door.

“Mitch?” Scott’s voice is absolutely wrecked, raw and rough from tears, and Mitch hasn’t heard it this bad since, well. Since he broke up the last time. It slowly dawns on Mitch that the last time it was like this, Scott had been crying for just about as long as he’s been gone this time, and the thought makes Mitch’s breath catch.

He gets off the bed and unlocks the door to something that’s absolutely heartbreaking.

Scott’s a mess, eyes red and swollen and still teary and cheeks scrubbed pink and _fuck_. He’s leaning against the doorframe like he’s about to collapse where he stands, and Mitch can almost feel his pain. It’s what he’s been feeling these past few months, basically.

“Oh baby,” Mitch breathes, pulling Scott into his arms. Scott essentially falls into his hold, and Mitch stumbles backwards a step so he doesn’t fall.

Mitch guides them back to his bed, and he pulls Scott so they’re sitting up against the headboard. Mitch holds Scott as best as he can, wrapping his arms around his waist and holding him tight. The irony of their position against this morning’s isn’t lost on Mitch, but he pushes it aside because his sun isn’t shining right now, and that’s not okay.

Scott’s not really crying, not really doing much, but his arm settles around Mitch. Mitch is about to speak when Scott beats him to it.

“I’m sorry,” Scott’s voice is raspy.

“What for?”

“This. Iceland. Everything, I guess,” Scott coughs out a humorless laugh. “I’ve hurt you a lot, haven’t I.” It’s not a question.

Mitch nods, pauses. “I- I guess I’m sorry too.” It’s not as hard for him to say as he thought it’d be. Maybe it is, but it just doesn’t feel as bad given everything else he’s been feeling (and not feeling) for the past however long it’s been. “For not talking to you before now. For not believing you now.”

Scott smiles sadly. “It’s okay. You don’t have to believe me.”

“But I want to,” Mitch says, and in his heart, he knows it’s true. He _wants_ to believe Scott, because who doesn’t, when the actual love of their life says they’re in love with them? It’s just that he’s trying so hard to reconcile Scott’s words with his actions, Scott’s “I’ve loved you for a long time” with his little one-nighters, his serious relationships, his… whatever it is with Shawn.

“I’m sorry.” Scott traces mindless patterns on Mitch’s arm, and Mitch shivers.

“Don’t apologize, Scotty,” Mitch whispers, squeezing Scott that much tighter in his arms. He hasn’t been able to properly cuddle Scott for so long that even this is making his chest warm, pushing out the coldness that’s permeated his body for so long. “I just want to know why you didn’t tell me sooner.”

Scott sighs. “See, this is where me being stupid comes in. Like I said, I only really figured out I liked you two years ago, and at that point, I was too scared to tell you. I wasn’t about to be rejected the moment I realized I was in love. That… dragged on for a few months, probably, and then Alex started asking about it,” Scott sighs again, deeper this time. “I guess I wasn’t very subtle, but if you didn’t notice, I must’ve gotten better. He broke up with me literally about this time just about one year ago, but you know that.”

Mitch does. He remembers the tears, the wine, the moping, _god,_ the tears. That breakup, despite giving him the slightest bit of hope, had hurt Mitch almost as much as it had hurt Scott.

Sad Scott is something Mitch hates, and he’s trying so hard right now to make sure it’s not going to happen again. Even if he has to move heaven and earth to make sure his sunshine keeps glowing, he will, and this isn’t nearly that hard. All Scott needs is for Mitch to believe him and to tell him he loves him back, and that’s not even going to be a lie if he does say it. The question is, _does_ Mitch believe him? Does he believe that Scott loves him, that he’s not just saying it to make him feel better?

(he does. scott’s never been one to lie, especially not to mitch. there’s an element of risk and trust here, but mitch is willing to take it if it mean scott’s happy. when scott’s involved, it’s really just a bonus if mitch has a chance to be happy too, but if this means that scott will be happy, mitch is willing to do it.)

“After Alex, Shawn came in, and, yeah, I’ll admit it. We had a thing for a little, but it just didn’t quite fit right?” Scott continues, and Mitch drags himself out of his thoughts.

Scott and Shawn “didn’t fit right”. Mitch wants to laugh. He’s seen the posts on tumblr and twitter. He’s lurked on the pages of different slices of their fandom. He knows Scott and Shawn don’t fit right.

“And I guess Iceland really confirmed it? I wanted to see what would happen if I broke our routine, and _fuck_ , Mitchy, I’m so sorry.”

“Why?” Mitch doesn’t know why he’s asking when it’s painfully obvious.

“You haven’t been sleeping much, have you.” Again, it’s not a question. Is it ever with Scott, though? Is it ever a question as to whether he’s lying, whether he actually loves Mitch?

It’s not.

It shouldn’t ever have been.

“You haven’t been eating, either, I know,” Scott murmurs, and Mitch sighs.

“I’m sorry,” Mitch whispers partially into Scott’s chest, where his head is resting just over Scott’s heart. The gentle, rhythmic _ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum_ is soothing, and Mitch wants to sleep.

“Don’t be. It’s my fault I didn’t see how much I was hurting you. I wanted to wait to tell you because I didn’t know if you liked me, and I’m so, so sorry, Mitchy.”

Mitch sighs. “It’s okay. I’m so tired, Scotty.”

“I know, baby, me too. Sleep now, and we’ll talk more later, okay?”

Mitch doesn’t reply, just pulls the two of them farther down into his covers, still not as comfortable or as cozy as Scott’s, but now that Scott’s here and things are slowly falling into place, it’s getting better.

Mitch keeps his hold tight on Scott because he doesn’t want to lose his sunshine so soon after the clouds cleared. Scott holds him right back, though, and it’s almost too warm under the blanket, but it’s the fastest Mitch has fallen into a deep, painless sleep in months, and he’s not tossing and turning, he’s not drifting and spinning. He’s safe, he’s anchored, he’s _home_.

They’re going to be okay.

 

 

 

 

- _fin._

**Author's Note:**

> well aren't u glad u didn't kill me  
> we have two parts left holy shit man  
> leave a comment or kudos if you're happy crying


End file.
